A recent blog post by Independent Blogger Andy Baio uncovered that the Bitcoin whitepaper is concealed within every Apple MacBook computer that runs current versions of macOS software. Baio explained that:
“The file is found in every version of macOS from Mojave (10.14.0) to the current version, Ventura (13.3), but isn’t in High Sierra (10.13) or earlier.“
https://twitter.com/cryptoro_global/status/1643904500292304898
“Of all the documents in the world, why was the Bitcoin whitepaper chosen? Is there a secret Bitcoin maxi working at Apple? The filename is “simpledoc.pdf” and it’s only 184 KB,” writes Baio on Waxy. “Maybe it was just a convenient, lightweight multipage PDF for testing purposes, never meant to be seen by end users.”
There is another aspect to consider as well. Craig Wright has been trying to obtain copyright of the Bitcoin whitepaper and has been taking legal action against websites that host it, albeit unsuccessfully.
It’s possible that this act of hiding the whitepaper was an internal act of rebellion by a programmer working at Apple – a company too large for Wright to sue.
How can MacBook users check the Bitcoin whitepaper?
The process is relatively straightforward. Initially, you need to launch the ‘Terminal’ application and enter the following command:
open /System/Library/Image\ Capture/Devices/VirtualScanner.app/Contents/Resources/simpledoc.pdf
If your operating system is macOS 10.14 or later, the Bitcoin PDF file will open in ‘Preview.’
Baio stated that the Bitcoin whitepaper serves as a “sample document for a device called Virtual Scanner II” in the ‘Image Capture’ utility. It should be noted that this feature is either hidden or not installed by default for all users. The blogger also mentioned that it is unclear why it is concealed for certain users and its exact purpose remains unknown.
To proceed, navigate to ‘Image Capture’ and choose the ‘Virtual Scanner II’ device (if available). In the ‘Details’ section, ensure that the media is set to ‘Document’ and the media DPI is set to ’72 DPI.’ Once completed, the preview of the first page of the Bitcoin whitepaper will appear.
